Topic: PCOS and Lyme Disease, Excess Hair (hirsutism)--Healthy Cells--Hormones-
daise
Unregistered
posted
LymeBlog News Lexington, KY USA LymeBlog News staff www.lymeblog.com
Helping Ourselves Diane J. Marie, patient advocate
PCOS and Lyme Disease
Excess Hair (hirsutism)--Healthy Cells--Hormones
PCOS I have PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.) It is a disease of insulin resistance: cells don't work right. That affects those with both PCOS and Lyme, in many ways.
PCOS is common, afflicting 6-10% of girls and women in the U.S. The majority of females aren't aware that PCOS is the name for what they have--and that it's treatable!
For females, having even a small amount of excess hair--light or dark--on arms, the chin, lip or thighs, etc. (hirsutism,) is the signal to get tested for PCOS. Acne and often weight gain, along with excess hair, usually starts at puberty. Lifelong management is needed.
The ``saying'' that many women of Mediterranean origin inherit excess hair--is questionable. Do they have PCOS? Striking females of all races, rates are higher among Native Americans, Hispanics and African Americans. Few studies have been done in other countries. Proper treatment greatly reduces or eliminates hirsutism.
High testosterone, high DHEA, high androstenedione or high progesterone (which acts like a sedative,) are diagnostic for PCOS.
Sooner or later, PCOS is a direct route to diabetes and heart disease. It causes high cholesterol and lipids, particularly high triglycerides (high dose, good-quality fish oil greatly reduces high triglycerides of PCOS.)
Sooner or later, most gain weight or become obese--yet some are thin or average weight. There are five types of PCOS; some types also cause hypoglycemia.
PCOS is metabolic mayhem, a cellular mess.
I suggest reading, The Savvy Woman's Guide TO PCOS, by Dr. Elizabeth Lee Vliet MD. Saliva testing cannot diagnose PCOS. Diagnoses and treatment requires blood testing.
What happens in the body with PCOS flies in the face of most conventional doctors. Typically, it's a chore to get diagnosed; an audition to get treated. With persistence and multiple doctor visits--it's a numbers game--it can be done. Try a PCP. If they won't test all hormones listed in Dr. Vliet's book, ask for a referral to an endocrinologist.
Even after menopause the adrenals may still make high PCOS levels. Certainly there can be high insulin. In my case, the endocrinologist diagnosed--but refused to treat me, because I was past menopause! (Of course, women past menopause must be put to pasture ...) Diabetes is an endocrinologist's main forte--what's the deal? In females, most do not try to prevent diabetes. I went back to my PCP with the diagnosis and explained. With persistence, I was prescribed metformin. A PCP is more likely to properly treat PCOS, when they are informed―even by patients.
Flashing Dr. Vliet's book cover to a doctor, pointing to Vliet's MD designation, then flashing the page that lists tests required (Patient: ``See? Right here.'') brings authority to your cause. It's easy, compared to getting Lyme diagnosis and treatment!
A doctors' rumor (taken to be fact by most) says PCOS means only one thing: infertility. Hogwash!
The medicine needed is metformin or certain birth control pills, or both. Metformin is one of the $4.00 per month drugs from Wal-mart. Different metformin brands affect people differently: experiment. There is no supplement known to take its place. In more serious cases glitazones may be needed.
PCOS is a whole-body, cellular disease that takes a long time to get managed. It includes weight loss through diet and exercise in order to reshape cells that work better. With proper treatment, losing weight ... becomes possible.
Having Lyme disease, my cells work better with metformin. I don't have diabetes: metformin helps straighten-out a number of sex hormone levels and insulin. No more insulin resistance!
Sooner or later untreated PCOS causes metabolic syndrome: the triangle / apple shape. With PCOS that usually means big shoulders and breasts. Using weightlifting machines for Lyme exercise did double-duty for me. I got lady's shoulders! I'm back to a size 10, because my cells work better. Aerobics were not involved, due to recommendations for Lyme exercise.
Doctors well versed say: Never mess with any hormone levels, unless properly tested. After taking metformin for months, saliva testing can be used to fine-tune treatment. I didn't show high testosterone by a blood test. However, saliva testing revealed high testosterone at the cellular level. I was prescribed a small amount of saw palmetto.
With ongoing treatment for PCOS, cells dance better! Cells aren't insulin resistant anymore. Cells handle carbs better. (Lyme is thought to be connected to carb consumption.) Being treated for PCOS is helping me get rid of Lyme.
Is there a PCOS equivalent affecting men? That's not known.
PCOS is considered autoimmune-related. Conventional medicine says the body makes autoimmune antibodies--for no known reason--that attack various body tissues, causing damage.
However, from my view--as a chronic Lyme patient, knowing that Lyme germs do change into germs with no cell walls and get inside our cells--I question whether autoimmune disease exists at all. Does our body make ``autoimmune'' antibodies in response to a real pathogen that exists inside cells and those continual antibodies can't reach inside cells--but destroy tissue, while trying? There are over 80 so-called autoimmune diseases.
High cortisol of PCOS causes anxiety Our body overworks the adrenals, demanding more cortisol output, due to Lyme recovery needs of the immune system. That alone causes stress and may engage anxiety.
PCOS stress on the body can further cause high cortisol levels from the adrenals, bringing anxiety (an adrenal gland sits over each kidney.) High sex hormone levels involved in PCOS are made by the ovaries and adrenals. Even after menopause, the adrenals can make high PCOS sex levels and tax the adrenals for cortisol output. PCOS insulin levels can be high.
As a result, I have adrenal fatigue (adrenal insufficiency from overworked, overwhelmed adrenals) from having both undiagnosed PCOS and undiagnosed hypothyroidism--for decades. Both can go hand-in-hand.
For those concerned with cortisol levels, I suggest, Feeling Fat, Fuzzy or Frazzled?, by Richard Shames MD and Karilee Shames PhD RN. You may find it at public libraries. This deals mostly with hormone levels that are too low, whereas with PCOS they are too high. However, their information on cortisol output and what to do about it―is outstanding.
They explain that when the adrenals (and other glands) work too hard they can be tricky, like a large, dying star: at first they burn brighter and brighter (excess cortisol output) and after a time they burn out (causing low cortisol output.) They're pooped: adrenal fatigue. During this fluctuating time we feel a ``fight or flight'' response, sometimes fighting, sometimes ``flighting.'' It affects how our body reacts to exercise.
Usually, blood or urine testing cortisol will reveal low levels when moving towards Addison's disease (another so-called ``autoimmune disease.'') However, it sometimes indicates adrenal fatigue on the level the Shames' book works with.
However, a saliva test, performed by a reputable company, can reveal adrenal fatigue at the cellular level. Four samples are taken at home, at specific times throughout one day. Results reveal low cortisol levels, at what time of day and point to appropriate dosages of medication. Research to find a reputable alternative doctor specializing in adrenal fatigue. If testing shows you need hydrocortisone (a steroid bioidentical to cortisol the human body makes,) a trial of a small dose is needed. That dose can be adjusted, according to the Shames' refined and specific guidelines.
My Medicare Advantage Plan paid for saliva testing. That has been unheard of.
Actually, high (or low) cortisol levels affect both men and women, in general. It can happen from constant, ongoing stress and exhaustion from living contemporary lives; or in my opinion being ignored, dismissed or misdiagnosed by several or dozens of doctors when actually it's chronic, hurting, stressful and debilitating Lyme disease; or from chronic illnesses, such as Lyme, that wear down our bodies.
This is significant for those trying to recover from Lyme, as cortisol levels high or low very much affect immune response. Lyme antibiotics need to work in partnership with a person's immune system.
Too much cortisol causes insomnia, damages muscles, causes tight muscles, can disintegrate cell membranes, can cause ``stress ulcers'' of the digestive tract and encourage infection. It can cause inflammation everywhere, especially the muscles. Certainly, it causes anxiety--as can Lyme disease. Connections to Lyme recovery become apparent.
The Shames' write that low cortisol signs and symptoms can cause ``dark circles under the eyes, low blood pressure, lack of libido, weakness, muscle and joint pains, dry skin, cystic breasts, difficulty recuperating from respiratory illness, (it also causes) anxiety, tendency to startle easily, depression, premature aging and reduced stamina for confrontation.''
The various adrenal hormones control the body's response to sugar, balance of fluids and blood pressure. It affects our energy. It affects our head: how we feel. If you are diabetic, being treated for adrenal fatigue affects blood levels of insulin.
I was prescribed a tiny amount of hydrocortisone, a steroid bioidentical to the cortisone hormone the body makes. Taken temporarily, it'll give my adrenals a rest, allowing them to heal. It's been one of my turning points. I feel better and my body works better. The Shames' write about adrenal lifestyle and supplement supportive measures, as well.
Any other steroids--except hydrocortisone, thyroid hormone and other hormones when needed for basic body function--are damaging to the immune system (such as Prednisone and other not-bioidentical prescription steroids.)
Menopause / "Men's Change" When a hormone level is "off" that may ``throw off'' other hormone levels (whether thyroid, sex hormones or cortisol.) The Shames' book addresses that, as well. It's a guide for perimenopause, menopause and ``men's change'' problems. They describe how the worst level of hormone fluctuation needs to be dealt with, first.
Feeling Fat, Fuzzy or Frazzled? is a guide for how the head feels, possibly revealing hormone trouble. That can indicate how to fix the problem or improve symptoms, with the Shames' suggested supplements, lifestyle changes or prescriptions.
Bioidentical hormones are an area foreign to conventional doctors. However, Premarin estrogen is not made by humans and it's not bioidentical: locking into cells is a problem. Rather, it's made by horses, only for horses (the ``mare'' in Premarin) and excreted in mares' urine, from which it is derived and sold. Conventional doctors knee-jerk reaction is: Premarin (etc.) studies on estrogen show it's dangerous and therefore all hormones (except thyroid and insulin) are trouble, unless necessary due to a hysterectomy.
Stay on the path of finding your own answers, no matter how hideous our disease is.
All discussions in this column are for information only and should not be interpreted as medical or other professional advice. Each person is unique and all readers should carefully consider their own personal situation before pursuing any course of action.
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What are other symptoms?
Posts: 290 | From ohio | Registered: Dec 2005
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canbravelyme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9785
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I don't know about PCOS, but the most obvious improvement I've had in the past 6 months on abx is my hairy legs!
I'm a woman, and it was starting to look like fur. I'd go to the doctor, begging they would believe me there was something wrong, not psychosomatic seizure like events, disability and hair growth.
Anyway, enough kvetching. All this to say I never believed any of them, and found an LLMD.
My hair is so sparse compared to how it's been in years! I haven't shaved in 3+ months, and it's still relatively reasonable.
Man, what numbers the Lyme can play!
Best wishes,
-------------------- For medical advice related to Lyme disease, please see an ILADS physician. Posts: 1494 | From Getting there... | Registered: Aug 2006
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heiwalove
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Member # 6467
posted
i just got the salive hormone testing done, and my cortisol and testosterone levels are high. apparently i'm not yet in adrenal fatigue, just adrenal 'stress.' my LLMD is super hormone-literate as well, and he & the lab that did the tests are making up a hormone cream formulated just for me.
my LLMD actually thought the high testosterone reading might be a mistake; i have no idea. he asked if i have oily skin or acne, neither of which have ever been a problem for me. i'm also thin and have a tendency to lose weight rather than gain it. that said, i DO have some hirsutism - not too bad, but i get a few random dark/coarse hairs (the rest of my hair is light red) on my chin/jawline, chest and breasts. i just pluck them whenever i notice them. sorry if that's TMI.
i wonder if PCOS is something i should ask my LLMD about. btw, i've never had an ovarian cyst, or a cyst of any sort. at least not yet.
thanks so much for the info! i think the hormone connection in lyme disease is really, really important.
merrygirl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 12041
posted
Symptoms of PCOS
Infrequent menstrual period and/or irregular bleeding
Infertility because of not ovulating
Increased growth of hair on face/body
Acne, oily skin, or dandruff Pelvic pain
Weight gain or obesity
Type 2 diabetes
High cholesterol
High blood pressure
Male-pattern baldness or thinning hair
Darkened skin on neck, arms, breasts, or thighs
Skin tags
Sleep apnea
Posts: 3905 | From USA | Registered: May 2007
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dontlikeliver
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 4749
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I have also been dx'd PCOS before Lyme, and of course still have it. I do not have what I would call problem excess hair though, and many do not.
But, I have an abnormal easy time gaining weight these days, and an impossible time losing it....also part of it. It's a vicious cycle.
The more you gain, the worse PCOS gets...If you have PCOS you tend to gain and increase insulin levels = fat gain, etc.
it is a different issue from Cortisol issue though.
Posts: 2824 | From The Back of Beyond | Registered: Oct 2003
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
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Thanks for this article. Good information.
You don't have to have PCOS for endrocrine disruption (sp?) or abnormal cortisol levels.
Lyme really affects the entire endrocrine system as do many chronic conditions and infections.
Cortisol is really something to study. Researchers are finding that it might be instrumental in heart problems, too.
Excess cortisol (from stress, etc) can be very caustic, nearly like battery acid to the inside of blood vessels, the heart and the brain.
Exposure to perfumes, various chemicals around the house, petroleum products and pollution also may be causing much of the endrocrine disruption going on these days, too.
You asked about other symptoms: with PCOS some get anxiety--even serious anxiety. Some have a little or a large cortisol hump just under the back of the neck, from too much cortisol.
Being overweight makes it worse--yet--it can be real tough to lose weight if you haven't been treated.
Hypothyroidism often goes hand in hand with PCOS.
Excess hair is the signal--that's the key to knowing you need the blood tests for PCOS.
That is exactly what happened to me. I had excess hair growth for decades. Then I was in preimenopause plus I didn't grow excess hair. It was great! I didn't have to shave my legs for a few months at a time
I was also loosing head hair at my crown. Hmmmmmmm. I hardly had to shave my armpits. Hmmmmmmm. And other things.
Here was the deal: I was severely hypothyroid. I didn't have enough thyroid hormone to grow the excess hair of PCOS on my arms and legs and upper lip. (But I still had PCOS.)
There was more hair from my head on the sink counter, from combing it, and in the sink and tub drain.
Finally, I was diagnosed with severe hypothyroidism and began treatment. That effects everything, from the tip of your head, clear down to your big right toe: all body systems. IT makes you vulnerable to infections--Lyme!
Getting hypothyroidism treatment was one of my turning points in dealing with whatever it was that I had that was disabling (later I figured out it was Lyme. Lyme often attacks the thyroid gland.)
This could be a big clue for you. If you test for PCOS before being treated for hypothyroidism, the blood tests will not at all be accurate. The idea is to get tested for hypothyroidism first (TSH, Free T4 and Free T3.) Get that under control for 4 months, minimum, or more.
Then get tested for PCOS, when the blood levels will be accurate, to see if you are diagnostic for PCOS.
Before, my severe hypothyroidism was masking my PCOS signs and symptoms. Hormone trouble is a circus!
Hypothyroidism is so common it's pathetic.
There is a wonderful book: Living Well With Hypothyroidism 2005 Edition, by Mary J. Shomon. You may find it at your public library. Also, she has an excellent search site at www.thyroid-info.com. That ties into her about.com site.
Beginning signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism are fatigue/exhaustion/being tired; feeling cold when others do not; constipation and weight gain.
After that, as it gets worse, there is a slug of things going wrong that are individual: muscle and joint aches; insomnia; sleep apnea, carpel tunnel, infertility, high or low blood pressure, high chol/lipids that are unresponsive to statins, dry skin and hair, and on and on.
Yes, I couldn't agree more: hormone levels are important for Lyme recovery. (Important even when you don't have Lyme!)
I'm so happy for you! You have an LLMD who is also hormone-literate. Yes, saliva testing can't be used to diagnose PCOS. However, your testosterone level was high at the cellular level. Can you afford blood tests for PCOS?
PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome)is missnamed. Actually, cystic ovaries don't really play a part in diagnosis or treatment. It was named that back in the early nineties, when the ovaries were the focal point. It had another name in the 30's or 40's.
You got diagnosed--good for you! I hope that includes treatment!
It's a mysterious disease, huh?
I'm going to say something ... is it possible there could be a "cat-scratch fever" connection? The "original" bartonella. I'm just wondering ... The soles of my feet would sting and get red and prickly when I was a girl.
I never played with dolls very much. I used to dress-up our cat and haul her around the neighborhood!
You mentioned weight gain /hard to lose weight. We also have Lyme, often causing weight gain, sometimes weight loss. Oh! It's hard.
PCOS is often seen with hypothyroidism--both are "autoimmune" diseases. Have you been tested?
The national association of endocrinologists (I don't know the exact name) has stated that hypothyroidism is diagnostic at a TSH over 3 (their range is .3 - 3.) However, most of the blood labs haven't caught up to that. The new range was stated about 4 years ago.
You can't lose weight (other than water weight, and I lost a lot of that) if your TSH is over about 2. Did you know that? This is foreign to conventional docs.
Wonderful book: Living Well With Hypothyroidism, 2005 edition, By Mary J. Shomon. It is packed full of information. Also, Mary has an excellent and very searchable database at www.thyroid-info.com. It ties to her about.com site. She has 2 free newsletters. She also wrote a book about thyroid and weight loss.
quote:(Of course, women past menopause must be put to pasture ...)
Yep. I found this to be the case. Doctors pretty much gave me anything I wanted until I neared 40.
Can I have more Klonopin, doc?
Sure! Here's 6 months worth!
Then even the Klonopin they'd been prescribing for 16 years suddenly became an issue with my waning hormones.
Can I have antibiotics, doc? They seem to help.
Sure! (until your hormones drop, hun)
They seemed almost EAGER to diagnose me as being menopausal, whipping out that little tablet to keep measuring my estrogen and progesterone - and I'll never forget that look of death on my doctor's face when he announced the only remnant left of my female sexuality (my right ovary) had withered into nothing.
They ripped out my uterus and left ovary with no argument whatsoever - it's usefulness lost with my increasing age - but when I need antibiotics for Lyme, they're worried they'll hurt me?
I really don't hold out much hope for women's health issues anymore with men calling the shots in healthcare and research. Most doctors are male. Most researchers are male.
What does a man know about being a woman? All they seem to know is numbers, and that would include dollars ($).
Women are big money-makers for a male-dominated industry, which is what healthcare has proven to be - an industry.
I'd like to see women in charge of the sexual health of men. I'm not sure what I'd do, but I'd have some fun.
Could the floral scent of your air freshener contain toxic chemicals known to cause birth defects? NRDC recently tested 14 different air fresheners and found that 12 contained chemicals called phthalates (pronounced thal-ates), chemicals that can cause hormonal abnormalities, birth defects and reproductive problems.
******** Even air fresheners marketed as "all-natural" or "unscented" contained the hazardous chemicals. *******
In addition to phthalates, air fresheners may contain allergens, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as well as cancer-causing chemicals such as benzene and formaldehyde.
The air fresheners NRDC tested included aerosol sprays, liquids that emit a continuous scent, and a solid. Of the 14 products tested by NRDC, there was wide variation in the level of phthalates contained.
Three of the 14 products had very high levels-more than 100 parts per million (ppm)-including products that ranged from 360 ppm to 7,307 ppm.
Two products-Febreze Air Effects and Renuzit Subtle Effects-contained no detectable levels of phthalates. (NRDC only tested one sample of each product, and more thorough testing is necessary to confirm the levels detected.)
Phthalates are found in a wide array of consumer products, including cosmetics and fragrances, pharmaceuticals, vinyl children's toys, automobiles and paints. Phthalates are known to interfere with production of testosterone and have been associated with reproductive abnormalities.
Pregnant women and children should avoid products that contain phthalates but because there are no labeling requirements it is virtually impossible for consumers to know which products may pose a risk.
NRDC and other groups are petitioning the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission to ban hazardous phthalates in consumer products and require that manufacturers provide ingredients information on the label.
Stronger regulations are needed to protect consumers. The EPA should require manufacturers to research and test the toxicity and health effects of inhaling chemicals from air fresheners.
Here's what you can do today to reduce your family's exposure to hazardous chemicals:
Endocrine disruptors may be found in many everyday products- including plastic bottles, metal food cans, detergents, flame retardants, food, toys, cosmetics, and pesticides . . . developmental, reproductive, neurological and immune effects.
-------------------
Endocrine Disruptors
Description
Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that may interfere with the body's endocrine system and produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune effects in both humans and wildlife.
A wide range of substances, both natural and man-made, are thought to cause endocrine disruption, including pharmaceuticals, dioxin and dioxin-like compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls, DDT and other pesticides, and plasticizers such as bisphenol A.
Endocrine disruptors may be found in many everyday products- including plastic bottles, metal food cans, detergents, flame retardants, food, toys, cosmetics, and pesticides . . . developmental, reproductive, neurological and immune effects.
The NIEHS supports studies to determine whether exposure to endocrine disruptors may result in human health effects including lowered fertility and an increased incidence of endometriosis and some cancers.
Research shows that endocrine disruptors may pose the greatest risk during prenatal and early postnatal development when organ and neural systems are forming.
more at link
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[ 18. November 2007, 01:47 AM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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daise
Unregistered
posted
You're a scream, tailz.
What you wrote just hits the old nail right on the head.
When I was getting diagnosed for Lyme, my male PCP was in contact with my consulting LLMD by phone. I was negative by 3 western blots. I'd told him about the huge bullseye rash. I had a CD57 count showing chronic Lyme disease, active infection.
My male PCP concluded that it was atually ~menopause.~
That was worse than when he'd first told me, "Lyme disease is rare and only in Connecticut."
I said, does menopause cause arthritis? Does it cause severe muscle pain? Does it cause severe, constant headpain/headache for 2 years? And other choice stuff. Then I stood up and limped out of his office. I was enraged!
It must have showed. A woman sitting in his waiting room said, "Is he really that bad?" Honest! I looked at her and shook my head, "yes," dumbfounded.
Some docs, if they can at all peg you with menopause (you're 31 years old with complaints, so it must be menopause. You're 32 years old with complaints so it must be menopause) they will. Then they get to change the board rules. Ever after that, ANY sign or symptom is attributed to your menopause.
I'm sorry you got your uterus and an ovary ripped out. I hope he gave you decent hormones and amounts.
I know a woman who had a hysterectomy and her female doc gave her no hormones at all. That poor woman. She has no medical insurance now. Still no hormones. Good grief.
I could feel that what you wrote came straight from your heart.
Lets climb a mountain. How about Pike's Peak. Are ya with me? OK. Here we go. Well, lets drive up. Up we go. Higher with every switch-back. We're breathing harder now--not much air up here. Oh ya. We're at the top.
Two Lyme patients at the top of Pike's Peak, grasping for air and we have a hard time getting out of the car. That's OK. All we really have to do is roll down the windows and yell ...
"Doctors: Practice medicine, why don't cha."
Do you feel better? I know I do.
We drive back down, braking every inch of the way. We get stop at the checkpoint for drivers headed down. We're told a tire is ready to pop from the braking or the air or whatever.
We conclude that a stretched tire is a small price to pay--that is if any one of these particular docs had heard us.
Wait a minute. There's something else we forget to yell ...
dontlikeliver
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 4749
posted
Daise,
I have had my thyroid tested, conventionally as far as I know, and told it is normal.
But, I will look into it more and bring it up with my LLMD when I see him again.
DLL
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daise
Unregistered
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dontlikeliver,
Ya, if you can, a copy of your THS, Free T4 and Free T3 would help, because you can study the blood ranges.
There is such a thing as being hypothyroid at the cellular level, yet with normal tests. In that case, you take a look at your signs and symptoms. That would require a really good alternative doc. Mary has a top docs list at her website.
But to get started, any doc can get your thyroid tested.
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
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Some thyroid medicines also contain gluten, corn, lactose, dyes (as various Aluminum Lake formulas) - so check for allergies, etc. To avoid dyes, you can get the one w/o and adjust for dosage.
Even the tiny bit of gluten in a pill can have a huge effect for the GI and brain if gluten is a problem. Many are becoming more gluten-free, but the use of corn and dyes is huge.
Generics will have some different ingredients, mostly the INACTIVE ingredients than the brand names.
I heard in a recent lecture that some thyroid pills are petroleum based (but I don't have a citation about that). If so, that could have connections with "Phthalates" or "Endocrine Disruptors"
Western Research Laboratories was founded in 1934 . . . natural thyroid medications Westhroid� and Nature-Throid� that remain ... www.westernresearchlaboratories.com
posted
daise, don' feel bad. My GYN had been in contact with my PCP somehow, and my GYN said to me, "Everything comes back normal. I strongly suggest you take something if it is offered (meaning Cymbalta)."
I cursed at my GYN. What was he going to do? Change my diagnosis from "perimenopausal and psycho" to "menopausal and psycho"? - like it would have made any difference to me at that point?
One doc even tried to blame the protein in my urine on sperm. Since I didn't have a boyfriend, I kind of knew this was an impossibility. But then again, I didn't think I should have to share my sexual history with an old man who obviously had drawn some pretty major conclusions about me already.
That right there told me that doctors are incapable of leaving their own personal prejudices at home, so why should I have to leave the ones I'd been developing about doctors at home?
I was devastated though. I kept glancing around at older women trying to figure out why they all seemed so calm, why they all weren't dripping with sweat, shaking, shivering, wincing. I couldn't help but wonder how we managed to have any women still alive beyond the age of 50, if this was indeed menopause.
I've discovered, too, that the age-old theory that menopause is the result of our running out of eggs may in fact be a lie, and hopefully (but unlikely top priority) a good jolt to male-dominated science. They're too busy working on Viagra though:
I was supposed to go back for another breast ultrasound - I won't do it. I won't even go back for a PAP. It's sick what they are doing to women.
You have to read "The Whole Woman" by Germaine Greer though. I seriously think this book should be required reading for all women.
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daise
Unregistered
posted
Tailz
I like Germaine Greer's writing.
You wrote: "I couldn't help but wonder how we managed to have any women still alive beyond the age of 50, if this was indeed menopause."
You could make wooden plaques on that statement and sell them. It just states what so many women feel.
Viagra: one of the greatest marketing ideas in the past 200,000 years. All the while ... it means men are ill. They are being treated for one body part at the expense of whatever illness they have. Or whatever may be a normal happening, when it's occasional.
posted
diane, outstanding article you wrote; so easy to read and loved your style of writing. is thi what you recently told me about by pm that i could not access?
i'll add your link to my newbie package; very interesting.
gluten in thyroid medicine too; i gave all my allergy...foods to pharmacist to enter into their computer so they could check before giving me stuff i'd react too!
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tailz
Unregistered
posted
daise, I'll climb any mountain with a woman who likes Germaine Greer. I'm actually in the mood to read it again.
I seriously think though that menopause is some neat little combination of infection/toxicity/radiation poisoning. It is by no means 'natural', in my opinion, and I think we have essentially been lied to by a male-dominated profession who has not prioritized finding a cure for menopause, as they apparently don't yet view it as a disease.
How can they cure something if they don't first acknowledge it is a disease? And how could I think otherwise considering they were all too comfortable informing me that I was menopausal at 41, when in fact I had infection?
I kept telling them that my night sweats always seemed to lessen whenever I was on antibiotics - that my hair would stop falling out whenever I was on antibiotics - but they did nothing, and my head can't seem to forget that. Matter of fact, I won't let myself forget this.
And even if there was such a thing as menopause, do you really think I'd want a guy presenting the news to me? I can't believe this is even allowed, let alone commonplace. I guess it works for them - after all, I've been paying a guy to look at my nakedness annually for 20-some years, no questions asked. I honestly should ask for my money back - with interest. I'd be a rich woman.
Why aren't men given testosterone so that they can feel less 'virile'? Why is estrogen presented as this wishy-washy hormone, yet testosterone is presented as this all-encompassing hormone of strength and vitality?
Truth is a woman will produce more testosterone in her lifetime than she will ever produce of estrogen, yet somehow they deny her this luxury. I know what testosterone does, too - they put me on it once, and holy cow, yikes!
I even watch these commercials targeted at young women now that basically instill fear in them over catching HPV - that if they don't get the vaccine and protect themselves, they will eventually get cervical cancer.
Did you ever notice the woman's face in that commercial? It both cracks me up and infuriates me at the same time. Why don't they have a nice young guy telling me I need to worry about HPV? - because, most likely, it would have been a guy who resembled him that gave me the infection in the first place!
It's sick what they're doing. After what they did to me - HPV - cancer - whatever - I'll take that over their money-making vaccine that will eventually kill more people than HPV ever did.
Sorry, I evidently needed to vent again.
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daise
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posted
Tailz,
Go ahead and vent. I think venting is healthy. When we don't vent, it's stuck inside. That hurts us. Gotta vent.
Looks like my Lyme brain and herx left out some things. Oh well. It's an article, not a book. I'm glad you're including it in the newbie information, because many will be helped.
You couldn't access it?
Endometriosis can especially happen with PCOS. And you have diabetes.
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
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is thi what you recently told me about by pm that i could not access?
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